John: Hey, everyone, and welcome back to the Eagle Community Church of Christ podcast. My name is John Gunter. I'm the preaching minister here. This week, you're listening to, week 4 or sermon number 4 on fix your focus. Today, we talk about what it means to be an example as we talk about being focused on Christ, being focused in our lives.
What does it mean to live a life with that focus and how can that example be important to to ourselves and to other people? So again, we hope this is helpful for you. If we can do anything for you, let us know. We'd love to see you in person. Come see us anytime.
Have a great week.
John: Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. A challenge to those of us who have pledged our allegiance to Jesus. That so many things, again, try these earthly things, try to grab us, try to pull us in. And Paul says, if you have been raised, since you have been raised, as he's talking to church people, set your minds on things above.
Think about the good things. Last week, we talked about, and if you missed it, I'm sorry, but I carried this board around with me sticking out of my head, offering to touch Laura's eyeball, by the way. But often what we do is is we're so focused on other things. We're so focused on other people that we lose sight of who we are supposed to be. And one critical verse about that or set of verses here is something Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.
He said, do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. And that should make us slow up a little bit, shouldn't it? Now again, as I said last week, a lot of people like to just grab the first part of this section and say, don't judge me no matter what I'm doing.
That's not what it's saying, is it? No. It's saying, be careful in the way that you judge, because the way, the measure, all of that will be used on you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?' And that's when I had the whole board sticking out of my head.
It says, you hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Why is it that we can walk around in life with a plank sticking out of our head and not notice that, but I I notice the sawdust in your eye? Because our focus is somewhere else, somewhere it shouldn't be. Now, notice what Jesus says. Both of those things need to be taken care of.
Right? But what you need to do is start with you. Start with your walk with Jesus Christ and how that is being shown. That you live a life not telling people, I'm a Christian. Oh, okay.
That's cool. But you live a life, and the way Jesus asked you to live a life is to live a life worthy that shows that you are indeed a Christian. We talk about being salt, we talk about being light. Those things are different. Right?
Light shines into the darkness. You don't cover it up, right? You don't become one with the darkness, you shine a light. You are different. Salt is the same way.
How many of your doctors said, not salt. But salt is that beautiful thing that when you put it perfectly on that that meat you are about to smoke in the smoker, just changes and transforms. Right? You wouldn't just stick it out there and, like, yeah, we will just eat. Maybe that's how some of y'all grew up.
You just ate the blandest stuff you could do. But we are supposed to be different. Right? And today, what we're talking about is really the example that you set for other people. Because, again, what we do, a lot of times, we huddle up and we think, well, we need to fix them, and we need to fix them, and we do all of that.
And, again, what Jesus is saying, you start with you. Because if you'll fix this, I think a lot of that other stuff fall into place because, 1, you have done the work for you, but you've also become an example for other people. How many of you can think about a great example, one of the reasons you're here today? That some member of your family or member from church or somebody brought you to church or you saw their life and you said, yeah, I wanna follow that. Because examples are very powerful.
And that's what we should always remember. When we're going to the store, when we're in traffic, any of those things, that we are the example, we are supposed to live. You notice in that verse, it says, you have died. Your life is now Jesus. How would you fill that in today if we took a survey of what your life was?
What if you handed that survey to your kids or to a close family member? How would that look? Would it be my life is Christ or my life is I'm really chasing this thing right now? And so we've got to be conscious of what kind of example we are leaving. We read this last week from Colossians 3 verses 12 through 17, therefore, as God's chosen people holy and dearly loved.
Remember, holy just means set apart. You are here for a reason. There is there is something special. This is for a reason. Holy and dearly loved.
Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Back to that survey we're about to fill out. Are those things on the list? And what if you're not feeling it out? I saw somebody elbow a daughter just a minute ago.
Wouldn't it be interesting if we actually did that? Would it be that you have clothed yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience? Or is it, well, as long as we're in the church building, that's what it is. Once we get out, it's no holds barred. Right?
Let's go. But this is who this is who we are supposed to be. Bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive again as the Lord forgave you because as I do the work, I've gotta look up and realize god has forgiven me a lot. Amen?
Okay. I thought you were gonna leave me hanging. Amen. You know how much god has forgiven you. We've got to pass that on.
We've got to forgive other people because he has done that for us, and I know right now in our society, it's it's almost a good thing if you hold something against one another. He just talked about forgiveness during our communion time. They disrespected you. You've got all the right in the world in our society to go get it. Go get yours back.
That's not who you are. Your you have died and your life is now Christ. Forgive one another. If anyone of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Again, loving someone, loving them, caring for them enough to really want them to be in a right relationship with God. Again, the scripture will even talk about loving your enemies because if you get to a point where you hate someone so much that you just wish they'd go to I'm not gonna say that word. My son's in here. You've missed it. You don't show the same love that god showed for you because we have done so many things against god, yet he still forgives.
He still shows us His grace and His mercy and says, Come in my child. To peace and be faithful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. That means as you said here on the chairs this morning, that means as you go to work tomorrow, that means as you are interacting with people on social media, that means everywhere.
That this is who you are, that we don't compartmentalize and have my Sunday self and my Monday self and my Tuesday self, right? You are supposed to be transformed because of the Spirit of God. If you look around and that's not the case, if this does not describe you, that means change needs to happen right now. Don't wait. Don't.
Y'all say, hymnhaw? Say just in Arkansas. Okay. Okay. Just making sure.
Don't hymnhaw around, Southern folks. Do it. Turn your life back to Jesus. Paul reiterates here in Ephesians 4, As a prisoner for the Lord, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle.
Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Is that you this morning? Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to 1 hope when you were called 1 Lord, 1 faith, 1 baptism. Colossians 3 again, you used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these.
Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge and the image of its Creator. That you are now living a life that should show other people who God is, how God loves, how God interacts with others. Is it you? Paul tells Titus, he said, remind the people.
This is in your bullets in this week. Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good. We don't like any of that, do we? We don't like a thing about that. But what's it say?
Remind the people, Titus, you're gonna have to remind them. They don't wanna do it. I mean, we could fill in our names right here, couldn't we? Gonna have to remind them, be subject to rulers and authorities to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good. Now, a lot of times we are ready, but it's usually the spring on somebody and to react.
It's to get back. It's to, again, not forgive, but I'm I'm ready for all of that. But what I'm not ready for is to do whatever is good. To be the kind of person that is just eager and ready to do good. He goes on here.
He says, to slander no one. Y'all this is going to be tough because this is an election year and we have social media. You understand that? You understand that? This is election year.
There's social media and we get the keyboard warriors. And, unfortunately, we we end up it seems like every time I end up losing respect for some person calling himself a Christian, but they get online and call other people every name in the book. Feeling is as if they're if somehow their god given duty to do so. This is what Paul says. You slander no one.
You be peaceable and considerate and always be gentle toward everyone. It seems like, I don't know if it's actually more than ever, but it feels like everybody just keyed up. Just ready to spring. It's the reason we have angry drivers. You know, I'm just ready for you to cut me off, and then I'm gonna react.
But Paul says, you live a life like this, and I hope as if we actually had something to fill out this morning, that people would describe me in this way, that he doesn't slander anyone. He's peaceable and considerate and always gentle toward everyone. That's very important to me. I don't want to come across as somebody that's just gonna jump on you. And if we're gonna have a conversation, that we're gonna we're gonna talk in a way that you feel comfortable, I feel comfortable.
Right? Not not because I need to be righteous self righteous in some way, but that's who I'm called to be. You understand? As a follower of Jesus Christ, I give up the me me me, and I become about Him. And if we can get to that point in our lives where that's that's our mindset, you are talking about taking off.
You are talking about a church that will just really go. That's what we will be. And so is that you this morning? We need to be an example. You understand that?
We've got to be an example more now than ever, as we see the world kind of turn away. We've seen, especially after COVID, our churches all over the United States, numbers dwindle because of in that time where people didn't meet face to face, they decided, well, it's not that important. It's important now as any time that we be an example of the kind of person Jesus has called us to be. Are you that example this morning? It says, at one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.
We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. He said, you've done that before. If you read the rest of Titus, you'll see how bad they thought the people were there, and they're pretty bad. But what but when the kindness and love of god, our savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. Again, that idea that that God has just lavished on us his mercy, not because we're awesome, not because we just handled that perfectly, but because he is perfect and he loved us, and he is merciful.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. So if you're sitting here this morning going, that doesn't describe me at all. I don't think sometimes we we do the worst thing. We'll we'll look at somebody else or even talk about ourselves. That that's just the way I am.
How many of you said that before? Or said that about, well, that's just the way he is. As if scripture ever says, well, unless he's just that way. Right? You know what?
Let's put a caveat in there. Unless he's usually not a peaceable person anyway, it's fine, right? No. You are called to be renewed and not just by your own power, though you are part of this equation, but that we lean on the power of the Holy Spirit to do the work that we cannot do. Through his spirit, we can be changed.
We can be that example. If that's you this morning saying, I it feels like a mountain to climb. Won't you rely on Him? Won't you rely on Him to carry you up that mountain to be where you need to be? He said, Whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our savior, the Spirit is poured out generously, he says, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
That is our reward. Amen. And I'm looking forward to it. And we should live our life according to this, that I want to be an heir of God and I am an heir of God. Are you this morning?
If your life is not right, you need to make it right. Be the example that it needs to be. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to stress these things. Do you hear Paul just reiterating? Stress it again.
Stress it again. So that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. You understand you're supposed to be careful. That there are things that are we use the word trigger all the time, don't we?
That just triggers me. Well, guess what? Be careful. Understand that triggers you. Guard yourself from that.
Start becoming a peaceful person that that doesn't trigger you. That's also an option, you understand. Sometimes, we just act as if that's unchangeable, but you become this kind of person. He says, These things, these good things that he's calling us to are excellent and profitable for everyone. What are these good things?
Well, the things he just mentioned and this thing we don't like again. Be subject to rulers and authorities. Be obedient to be ready to do whatever is good. To slander no one. To be peaceable and considerate.
And always be gentle toward everyone. Today? Can you be that this week everywhere you go? Can you hold this verse close to the vest? That I'm going to start working on me, that I'm going to become person I'm supposed to be.
Don't put the blame on someone else who triggered you or set you off, but you become who Christ has called you to be. Can you do that, church? Would you stand as we read our scripture this morning? Please read with me. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Amen. We've got an invitation song picked out this morning. We'd love to to see you change your life and walk closer to him, as as we, sing our song.